Casino, New South Wales
| est = | elevation= 26 | coordinates = | latd =28 |latm =52 |lats =0 | longd =153 |longm =03 |longs =0 | pushpin_label_position = left |elevation_footnotes= | maxtemp = 26.8 | mintemp = 13.1 | rainfall = 1097.5 | stategov = Lismore | fedgov = Page | dist1 = 716 | location1= Sydney |dist2 =189 |location2= Brisbane |dist3 =30 |location3= Lismore }} Casino is a town in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia, with a population of 9,400 people . It lies on the banks of the Richmond River and is situated at the junction of the Bruxner Highway and the Summerland Way. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Overview Casino is the seat of the Richmond Valley Council, a local government area. The town is named after the Casino Station, owned by Clarke Irving, which was named after Cassino (near Monte Cassino) in Italy,Geographical Names Board of New South Wales with which it has a sister city agreement. Casino is among Australia's largest beef centres. It is the regional hub of a very large cattle industry and positions itself as the "Beef Capital" of Australia, although the city of Rockhampton also claims this title. In addition it is the service centre for a rich agricultural area. Each year the town celebrates Beef Week. It was cancelled in 2007 due to a drought. In 2008, Casino hosted Beef Week from 27 May to the 3 June. Transport Casino is situated on the main North Coast railway line between Sydney and Brisbane, north of Grafton. A branch line ran via Lismore to Murwillumbah; that line has since been closed, although lobbying is taking place to re-open it. Casino railway station is the terminus of the daily CountryLink Casino XPT from Sydney and there is a daily service to and from Brisbane via the Brisbane XPT. In the 1920s, a never completed railway branch line to Bonalbo was started. Casino is serviced by Lismore Airport with several daily flights to Sydney. Among its many schools are the main ones: Casino High School, Casino Public School, Casino West Public School, St. Mary's Primary School, St. Mary's High School and Casino Christian Community School. Notable people * Ian Callinan (born 1937), High Court judge * Pat Darling (1913–2007), nurse and author * John Elford, rugby league player * Jeff Fatt (born 1953), musician and actor, one of The Wiggles * Thomas George (born 1949), politician * Ben Kennedy (born 1974), rugby league player * Matt King (born 1980), rugby league player * Tess Mallos, food journalist and author * Chris Munce (born 1969), horse racing jockey * Albert Torrens (born 1976), rugby league player * Damien Wright (born 1975), cricket player * Christian Layland (born 1989), association football media personality (attended Casino High School) * Brian Smith, rugby league player and coach (attended Casino High School) See also * Arthur Percy Sullivan (1896–1937), Victoria Cross recipient, worked at a bank in Casino during the 1930s. * The song "I've Been Everywhere" references Casino in its second verse. * List of never used railways References External links *[http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/casino-20081113-5ype.html General travel information on Casino from The Sydney Morning Herald] Category:Towns in New South Wales Category:Northern Rivers